Marlowe and Shakespeare Paper

Jessica Del Castillo

English 144

28 September 2017

The theme of ambition plays an important role in both Dr. Faustus and Twelfth Night. Faustus, a man ambitious enough to risk everything to gain infinite knowledge and power, allows his ambition to be the downfall of him. Malvolio, likewise, allows his ambition to guide his judgment rather than remain true to what he knows. During the times of Marlowe and Shakespeare, it was frowned upon to be ambitious. Due to this, Marlowe and Shakespeare both show ambition to be a terrible quality in people, exemplified through their character’s downfalls. Marlowe uses the genre of his play to illustrate how serious it can be to have ambition. Shakespeare uses his comedic genre to add dark humor to his play due to having ambition. This paper will analyze the works of Marlowe and Shakespeare, Dr. Faustus and Twelfth Night, using the genre of the plays to illustrate the dark path ambition can lead a person.

Christopher Marlowe portrays ambition to be a terrible quality in humans. He exemplifies this through the immoral decisions Faustus makes throughout the play and inevitably his death in the end. Dr. Faustus was a man of great knowledge. He was highly educated in all subjects, however, that was not enough for him. He wanted to be more and know more than any other human. He, therefore, began to learn the art of necromancy, black magic. His ambition to be more than other humans led him down a dark path. Marlowe uses the genre of the play, tragedy, to illustrate how misleading ambition can be. The play begins with Faustus determining that the knowledge he has gained is not good enough for him. In scene one Faustus says, “Sweet analytics, ‘tis thou hast ravished me. Is to dispute well logic’s chiefiest end? Afford this art no greater miracle? Then read no more, thou hast attained the end; a greater subject fitteth Faustus’ wit” (Act 1, Scene 1). Faustus has a desire to gain power and learn more than he has already learned. This ambition is what leads him to learn black magic. He says, “These metaphysics of magicians, and necromantic books are heavenly! Lines, circles, schemes, letters, and characters! Ay, these are those that Faustus most desires” (Act 1, Scene 1). Faustus’ intense desire to know more and be more than any other human leads him to sell his soul to the devil. It is frequently mentioned in the play that Faustus can repeal his contract with the devil and turn back to God, all he must do is ask for forgiveness. However, he has this intense desire for power and knowledge he is unable to repeal the contract. His ambition for more has led him down a dark path he cannot return from.

Marlowe frequently mentions the good angel and evil angel in the play. The good angel says to Faustus, “O Faustus, lay that damned book aside, and gaze not on it, lest it tempt thy soul, and heap God’s heavy wrath upon thy head: Read, read the scriptures; that is blasphemy” (Act 1, Scene 1). Marlowe uses the good angel to try to persuade Faustus into changing his mind about his pact with the devil. However, it is no use. The evil angel says to Faustus, “Go forward Faustus, in that famous art, wherein all nature’s treasury is contained: be thou on earth as Jove is in the sky, Lord and commander of these elements” (Act 1, Scene 1). Faustus has let his ambition guide his decisions and because of that, he listens to the evil angel. As the play progresses and Faustus goes on his many adventures with the demon, Mephastophilis, he begins to lose the knowledge he has gained throughout his lifetime. He is no longer quoting Greek philosophers as he once was and he is no longer looking through his many books. Instead, he is hitting the pope in the back of the head as a prank. He is acting foolishly. Faustus says, “Well, there’s the second time; aware a third! I give you fair warning” Cross again, and Faustus hits him a box of the ear, and they all run away. (Act 1, Scene 7). Marlowe uses Faustus’ adventures and his loss of knowledge to show the readers where ambition could lead. Not only has Faustus lost his soul to the devil because of his ambition, he has also lost the knowledge he has gained throughout his lifetime. His ambition has led him to act like a fool. Marlowe uses humor in the play to lighten the mood because the play is a tragedy and it is going to end in Faustus’ death. However, Marlowe’s use of humor in the play does not affect the way Marlowe portrays ambition throughout the play. Throughout the play, it is kept in the minds of the readers that Faustus is going to die in the end because his ambition led him to sell his soul. Marlowe uses the genre of the play to illustrate the significance of what Faustus has done. He shows that although Faustus did have several years of fun and was able to gain the power he sought, it did end up costing him his life. At the end of the play, an old man appears to Faustus to try and convince him to turn back. He says to Faustus, “Ah Doctor Faustus, that I might prevail to guide thy steps unto the way of life, by which sweet path thou may’st attain the goal that shall conduct thee to celestial rest” (Act 1, Scene 12). However, Faustus is so consumed with his contract with the devil he is unable to turn back. Marlowe uses the old man to show the readers that Faustus has until the very end of the play to turn back and yet, Faustus remains headstrong in the direction his ambition has led him. In the end, Faustus pays with his life. He says, “adders and serpents, let me breathe awhile! Ugly hell gape not! Come not, Lucifer! I’ll burn my books-ah, Mephastophilis!” (Act 1, Scene 13). Faustus let his ambition consume him and because of that, the devil took his soul. Marlowe uses this tragic ending to show the ugliness of ambition that led to the fall of a great man.

In Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, he also shows ambition to be a horrible quality. His ending is not as dramatic or serious as Dr. Faustus, but it does not end happily for Malvolio. Malvolio is Olivia’s steward, head of the household. However, he does not have any significant power or rank in society. This greatly upsets Malvolio, particularly because Sir Toby Belch, Olivia’s uncle, is boisterous and unruly. Malvolio does not like that Sir Toby is always drunk and loud. However, since Sir Toby is nobility and Malvolio is not Malvolio cannot do anything to Sir Toby. This leads to his ambition of wanting power and rank in society. Malvolio is often described as being a Puritan. He likes to ruin the fun that people are having and wants to be taken seriously. In Act two he tells Maria, “Mistress Mary, if you prized my lady’s favor at any thing more than contempt you would not give means for this uncivil rule. She shall know of it, by this hand” (Act 2, Scene 3). His way of ruining Maria’s, Sir Toby’s, and Sir Andrew’s amusement is what causes him to be the center of ridicule for them. Maria creates a fake love letter for Malvolio to find, and because Malvolio is filled with ambition to obtain power and rank he is gullible to the letter. Shakespeare shows the severity of having ambition through Malvolio’s lack of judgment. The letter that Maria has written does not make sense and Malvolio still believes it is real and from Olivia. He says, “M.O.A.I.” “This simulation is not as the former; and yet to crush this a little, it would bow to me, for every one of these letters are in my name” (Act 2, Scene 5).  The letter is confusing, even to him, however, he still makes himself believe it is real. His brain is so clouded with his ambition that he is unable to see that he is being laughed at. He continues saying, “be opposite with a kinsman, surly with servants. Let thy tongue tang arguments of state; put thyself into the trick of singularity. She thus advises thee that sighs for thee” (Act 2, Scene 5). This shows the ambition that Malvolio is guided by. He desires to be able to tell people what to do, instead of being told what to do, and this desire leads him to act foolishly and be mocked. His ambitious nature causes him to do things such as wear yellow stockings and smile incessantly at Olivia, which causes her to believe he is going mad. If he was using his right judgment instead of the ambitions that drove him, he would have been able to see how foolish he was being and that everything that was in the letter was fake. Maria, Sir Toby, and Sir Andrew continue to mock Malvolio throughout the play. They pretend that he has gone mad and lock him up in a dark room. In act four he says, “Sir Topas, never was man thus wronged. Good Sir Topas, do not think I am mad. They have laid me here in hideous darkness” (Act 4, Scene 2). At this point of the play, Maria, Sir Toby, and Sir Andrew have been laughing at Malvolio and he still does not realize what is going on. Shakespeare uses Malvolio to show the audience how much ambition can befuddle a mind. Shakespeare uses the genre of the play to add comedic relief to everything that is happening to Malvolio, however, the play does have dark humor in the way that Malvolio is being treated. He is compared to a Puritan and wants to ruin everyone’s amusement, however, he does not deserve how he is being treated. He is being bullied by Maria, Sir Toby, and Sir Andrew. Their amusement of him goes so far as to lock him in a dark room and tell him he has gone mad. This dark humor of the play shows the audience how ambition can cause people to act as irrational human beings. This illustration of ambition is not as grim as the illustration Marlowe uses at the end of his play. Malvolio does not lose his life like Faustus does, however, he is deeply disturbed by the way he has been treated. When Malvolio has finally realized that everything he has gone through is a joke, he is extremely upset. He says, “I’ll be revenged on the whole pack of you” (Act 5, Scene 1). Shakespeare uses Malvolio to show the audience how foolish it can be to have ambition and how it only leads to misfortune.